Social Sciences

History

The pathway to the future is paved by its past. Palo Alto College offers a wide variety of history courses to include general broad-based American, Western and World Civilization, specialty courses delving into the history of England, the Far East, and Texas as well as courses examining the social, economic, political and cultural experiences of the nation’s African- and Mexican-American peoples. The concentration in history is recommended for those seeking a four-year degree in elementary and secondary education. It is a helpful academic subject for those seeking four-year degrees in political science, geography, economics, and journalism.

The Interactive History Projectis a website of original student research of oral histories and Texas small town histories. The oral history projects are an integral part of Professor Peter Myers's History 1302 course, while Professor Robert Hines's History 1302 students research the history of small towns in Texas.

History--omitted from the traditional textbook--is alive and well when Palo Alto students go beyond the large sweep of the past by interviewing their elders who have stories to tell about the past. From the immigrant grandmother who came to America to find a better life for herself and her young child to the grandfather who was a pinsetter at a local bowling alley, each oral history weaves another patch into the American tapestry.

Americans started as a rural people. Much of our cultural foundations are grounded in rural America. Our economy is dependent upon it; our religious beliefs are steeped in it. Our increasing national ignorance of the economic and historical importance of rural America bodes ill for the future. To ignore the farm and small town is to ignore ourselves. Thus by studying small towns in Texas, students are involved in a more personal way by "doing" history.